It's a cold, gray Sunday afternoon in the middle of winter. The lake is frozen to a solid still. The ducks are gone. Even the sparrows, which live in Minnesota year-round, have retreated to their nests. The snow covers the ground in a soft hush, and all around it's quiet. Until 3:00 p.m. Then it's a cacophony of metal blades scraping against ice, of hard rubber 'brooms' thwacking a ball, of happy cries from parents and kids as the regular pick-up game of broom-ball picks up speed behind the Brown's house on Lake Minnetonka.

"I got my first pair of hockey skates last year," Jenny Brown confessed. After decades of toe picks and figure skating, she can keep up with her kids most of the time. Fortunately, she doesn't need her skates to play broomball, which is her favorite icy pastime. "It's exercise and a great mixer. You're playing with your kids, and at age 14, kids don't like their parents playing with them. The thing I like best is the family [component of broomball], that's my favorite when everyone brings their kids over. That's great"

Her husband, Scott,agrees, and adds that the ice evens the playing field. "Standing on ice in tennis shoes makes an absolute equalizer of everybody. You can be an all-star athlete or, you can be not such a great athlete, but if you can't move, it doesn't matter."

Of course, for those people who don't want to demonstrate their balancing skills amid the fast-paced game, the Browns came up with a popular solution right next door. "We plowed off a big lane and we got these old pins from one of the bowling alleys." That's right, ice bowling. It looks like a cross between curling and bowling. Players heave plastic milk-jugs filled with water at bowling pins lined up on the opposite end of the lane. "We put [drops of food coloring] on the ice so you know where the pins go. And on the other end, the only thing we changed was instead of having a line like in bowling, we just made a big blue dot on the ice." Bowlers must keep one foot on the dot at all times as they toss a colorful plastic jug down the makeshift lane. "In the bowling alley, the balls are all different colors so just for the fun of it, we made different colored ice jugs by filling each with colored water. One red, one blue, one green."

When the Browns aren't bowling or playing broomball, they're taking advantage of other winter activities they can do around the lake, like snowmobiling and cross-country skiing. Even if you don't live right off a lake, you can take advantage of all that winter has to offer along its waterways, too. Minnesota boasts more than 16,000 miles of snowmobile and cross-country ski trails maintained by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Trek through the north woods on hundreds of groomed trails, visit your local state park, even the chain of lakes in Minneapolis are great for a good ski workout.

If you want to make sure Fido gets regular exercise during the cold winter months, look into skijoring. It's a winter sport that's gaining popularity. You can even sign up to compete in skijor races in the upper Midwest area. To skijor, all you need is a pair of cross-country skis for yourself and a good fitting harness for your dog. The harness ties around your waist to keep your hands free for balance and pole plants. Jennifer Deye, a member of the Northstar Sled Dog Club of the Upper Midwest, says most breeds of dogs are able to skijor, as long as the dog has good feet and a thick coat. But even then, you can defy Mother Nature. "You can get booties, usually polar fleece booties with a little Velcro around the ankles to protect their feet. If you have a dog with a very thin coat, they make polar fleece dog coats to keep them warm, too." Even poodles can skijor if you clothe them with the proper attire. Then it's just a matter of finding that perfect trail along the lake.

"It's full of opportunity," says Scott Brown, looking out at the open water from his living room. "You can't walk out there now, but soon." His wife, Jenny completes the thought, "it extends your backyard and opens up a whole new playground."

ICE THICKNESS GUIDE

Ice thickness varies from place to place on the same body of water. Check with local bait shops,resorts or the DNR for current ice conditions. It takes:

• 4 inches of clear solid ice to support a person
• 5 inches of clear solid ice to support a snowmobile
• 8-12 inches for a small car or truck

ICE-BOUND ACTIVITIES

In addition to creating your own broomball rink or bowling alley, try: ICE GOLF. Drill 3' holes into the ice and set up your own obstacles. ICE CROQUET. Drill holes into the ice for the wickets and set up your own course. Pack snow around the back of the wickets to keep the ball from sliding all over the ice. SKATE SAILING. Grab hold of a sheet or make your own cloth kite and let it whisk you around the ice.

ICE SAFETY TIP

Whether you're skijoring, cross-country skiing or snowmobiling on area lakes, it's a good idea to be prepared. The Minnesota DNR recommends keeping a pair of ice rescue claws with you at all times. Ice rescue claws will fit into a fanny pack, which you can wear around your waist. You can purchase them at mountaineering or ice fishing stores, or you can make your own. The DNR explains how to make ice claws and offers tips on how to wiggle your way out of the icy water should you fall in, on their website at: www.dnr.state.mn.us/information_and_education/ice_safety/iceclaws.html

By Stacey Farb